Change of Focus

     Have you ever looked out a car window during a storm and watched the rain drops race down the glass? There's two different things you can choose to focus on: the drops of water, or the landscape whizzing by outside. The other day as I rode home on a dreary afternoon, I stared out the window, watching the raindrops as I've done countless other times.

     It's really quite strange, if you think about it. Although I was looking at the exact same pane of glass, I was able to see two completely different things. The window itself, or I could look through the window and see what was beyond it. And this is the same with most situations in life, good or bad. You can choose to look at the situation for what it is, or look just a little past it, and see God's plan through it.

     The strange summer months of 2020 were not the brightest. I sustained an injury that affected my beloved sport of softball, where a routine bunt resulted in my first broken bone. I started my travel softball season with a fractured knee - that was not only the start of my season, but also the end. I was quite devastated. I'd never severely injured myself before. It didn't help that my team didn't have many girls to begin with, and now I couldn't even play? I questioned God. Why did this happen to me? Why now? I was looking directly at the situation, watching the raindrops race around and around, out of my control. I wasn't able to look past the obvious to see the big picture.

     Later, as expected, God shifted my focus to His plan. I had a crazy amount of fun that season, regardless of the fact that I spent most of my time on the bench with a large knee brace on my leg. I had a renewed appreciation for softball and now I will never take for granted having a healthy body to be able to play. Looking back, although I would've rather not endured the pain, I wouldn't change a thing about that season. All it took to change from "Why, God?" to "Thanks, God" was a change of perspective, a change of focus from the raindrops on the window, to the beautiful landscapes of God's plan through the window.

     So, where are your eyes focused? Do you have trouble seeing past the bad, to look at the good that is God's plan?